Clark gave the striker his break at Huddersfield Town on loan from Arsenal.

And the quick and powerful Afobe, although raw, impressed.

Now a little older and wiser, he is beginning to blossom.

He scored twice for England in the under-19s European Championship in Estonia, with one of his goals created by Blues winger Nathan Redmond.

So could that pair – who both netted in the 2-1 win over Serbia – be linking up again?

Clark told the Birmingham Mail: “I guess there’s bound to be speculation as he’s someone I had at Huddersfield Town.

“And Benik’s a good player who has got quality.

“But I have four fantastic strikers at the club at the moment. We have Peter Lovenkrands, Marlon King, Adam Rooney and Nikola Zigic, and also Jake Jervis.

“So we’re well stocked up and there isn’t that need to bring another one in.”

Afobe scored eight times in 32 games for Huddersfield in 2010-11 and was loaned to Reading in March, but only made one start for the Royals.

He may well be an option further down the line as Clark has plenty of scope in the loan market. But at present the 19-year-old doesn’t seem to be heading to St Andrew’s to add to the options.

Clark, meanwhile, explained his thinking over adding David Lucas to the goalkeeper ranks.

Lucas, player-coach at Rochdale last season, has a wealth of experience – and plenty of talent.

“He always impressed me playing for Swindon Town against Huddersfield,” said Clark.

“He’s got a lot of experience and he’s a very good player.

“Yes, he’s 34 but in goalkeeper terms he’s possibly got another five, six, seven years ahead of him. David adds to the competition. You need to have three goalkeepers as you don’t want to be left short and trying to find someone in the loan market if you get injuries.

“And also when we play Barnet (in the Capital One Cup first round, August 14), we could lose Jack Butland on England international duty.

“Had we not brought David in, then there would only be Colin Doyle available.”

“You need senior goalkeepers, you never know what could happen over the course of the season,” Clark added.

n Blues have scrapped their pre-season friendly at Oldham Athletic on July 31.

The League One side, despite a written agreement with Blues, decided to advertise a game against Manchester City on the same night after being approached by their neighbours. Because of the poor way Oldham handled the affair unimpressed Blues decided to pull out and are seeking alternative opponents on the date.

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